Pink Nightmare
by Shining Reira
Summary: Phoenix/Maya * It's Valentine's Day and Maya finds an old familiar pink sweater lying around the office. She takes matters into her own hands to make something even better.


Pink Nightmare. It makes him look like an Easter bunny gone wrong. No, a gumball. A big ugly pink and red gumball.

"I _hate_ you," I hissed. It sat across from me in Nick's clientele chair. The fact that he even still had it was beyond frustrating. It stared back at me, but just its presence was enough to mock me. Its ugly pink color matched with a bright red heart in the center. And of all colors, a **yellow** P. I may not know much about fashion; but I know one thing. Yellow, pink and red SHOULD NEVER EXIST TOGETHER.

"Why are you still here?" I asked. I realized it couldn't respond to me, but it made me feel better; taking out my anger on this _thing_. It's not like I cared that Nick had a girlfriend in the past. What bothered me was that this ex-girlfriend of his had not only tried to frame Nick for murder but also tried to kill Mia's lover. Oh, and did I mention that she possessed both my long lost mother and me? And made Godot (or Diego, I really don't know what to call him now…) kill Mom? Yeah, about that…

"You'd think you would have been in the incinerator by now." I sighed. Mia had told me once that her client had been a whipped little puppy (Mia described it to me but I still don't really know what she meant by whipped. I guess Dahlia was like Franziska and had a whip?), but why would he still have this sweater?

I mean, pink is a nice color (for **girls**), but what's the point of keeping it? I came into the office this morning and found it lying out on top of a box of Nick's old college stuff. I sighed. Today was Valentine's Day; was he trying to re-live his "happy" days with Dahlia?

Pearly had said I should try to do something special for Nick for Valentine's Day since he was my "special someone", but I still have no idea what to do. Looking at this disgustingly sweet sweater was not going to help me. I needed some time to myself.

I grabbed the sweater off the chair and threw it into a dark corner with some files that we hadn't gotten to sorting yet. I walked into what I liked to call our lounge area. Pearly's Steel Samurai ball was leaned against the wall near the trashcan. Meditating sounded like a great idea to clear my mind. So I sat myself on the floor and closed my eyes.

_"You're upset about something Maya." My sister's voice was as calming as a bite of a freshly made cheeseburger. I was currently between the world of the living and the world of the dead and when I needed her most, Mia was always there. "What's wrong?"_

_ I opened my eyes and there she was, as beautiful in the afterlife as she had been when she was alive. I was always jealous of her womanly curves. She always laughed and told me I'd grow in my own way when I was ready, but I couldn't help but spy on her when she was still living at home in the village. "It's nothing. Just something stupid."_

_ Her chocolate brown eyes followed me as I stood. She frowned and I turned away from her. "I may be dead Maya, but I am not blind or stupid." She was suddenly in front of me, her spirit a wispy form of her former self. "So, he pulled out the sweater?"_

_ The Pink Nightmare. Of course she had to bring up that damn thing. "Yes, why would he do that? Dahlia tried to frame him for murder! It just doesn't make sense…"_

_ "Love doesn't make sense Maya." She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Even after death I still love Diego. Nothing in the afterlife or beyond could change that; even after everything he's done since my passing and his awakening." I could tell she wanted to cry; I couldn't begin to imagine leaving Nick behind and watching him live his life from beyond. But Mia watched Diego every day. I often wondered if Diego saw anyone else. I shook the thought from my mind. I wasn't here to think about Mia stalking Diego. I was here because of the Pink Nightmare._

_ "I just don't know what to do about, that __**thing**__." _

_ Mia laughed. Oh how I missed her laugh. "Buy him a new one then."_

_ A thought struck me then. "Didn't Dahlia make a that gumball?"_

_ Mia's laugh continued to resonate in the empty space. "Honey, she may have made it, but I don't think that means that you should try to make him one yourself..."_

_ I stopped listening to her. "I'll make him a better one. In a much more fitting color. Who makes a guy a pink sweater anyway! I'll make it in blue. He looks so good in blue!" I threw my arms around Mia's wispy body. "Thank you so much!"_

_ "Maya, MAYA THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT." My older sister's voice slowly became more distant as I came back to the normal life I had left behind._

I stood up with enthusiasm that I hadn't had five minutes prior. I grabbed the small bag that held my keys to the office and my money and ran out the door. I paused only for the old man that came out of the elevator before I frantically pressed the "L" button.

So, after hours of knitting I realized that this sweater making thing was harder than Steel Samurai's battle with the Evil Magistrate in episode 57 of season 3. The blue wasn't a very pretty blue once I got it into the office. It looked more like mold than a blue raspberry slushie. Those things go SO well with a cheeseburger. Oh man. A cheeseburger. I could really go for one of those right now...

I held the sweater up. The bottom hem was lopsided. To make matters worse, the left sleeve was several inches longer than the right sleeve. Nick was going to be here any minute and I had completely run out of yarn. I heard the keys turn in the lock. Great, not only was I about to **embarrass** myself. I was about to do it on Valentine's Day to boot.

"Maya?" I heard Nick say as he walked in. The door clicked behind him and I heard his briefcase click against the floor. I gathered the knitting needles and the remains of the yarn up off the floor. I was just about to turn the sweater into a ball when Nick entered the lounge space. "There you are!" He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling as the sun from the window hit them.

I felt my cheeks flush as his eyes landed on the hideous sweater in my arms. "Oh, hi Nick." I tried to hide the sweater behind my back but he placed the box he was holding down and grabbed my hand.

"What's this?" He asked, reaching for the hairball in my arms. I tried to pull it away but I wasn't quick enough. "Maya," he paused. Probably trying to think of words that wouldn't crush me like the Nickel Samurai was when he found out Sayo was the daughter of the Strawberry Clan's leader in season 5 episode 14. "You made this for me?" He opened it up and surprisingly his smile got bigger.

"Yea, well its not nearly as good as the one that Dahlia made for you..." I couldn't believe I was saying it, but the Pink Nightmare was FAR better than my sad, sad attempt at a piece of clothing. But the next thing I knew, he was taking off his blazer and pulling the mess of a sweater over his head. "Nick, you don't need to do that..."

The long sleeve covered his hand as he reached for the takeout box he had put down. "Its not nearly as great as what you got me Maya, but I hope you like it." His face was almost as pink as the Nightmare was, as he handed over the box to me. "Happy Valentine's Day Maya."

I took the box from his hand and opened it. Inside was the best gift a man could ever give a girl. It was a cheeseburger. But not just any cheeseburger. It had a ketchup heart on it! How can you get anymore romantic than that!

Carefully, I put the box down and threw my arms around Nick's shoulders. "Oh thank you Nick! This is the best gift _ever_!" I looked up and him and smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

He held me awkwardly for a moment before he finally leaned down and kissed my forehead. "This sweater is much better than that pink nightmare."

See? Even HE thinks it was a nightmare!


End file.
